The New Members Round Table (NMRT) and the American Library Association (ALA) Membership Committee wish to congratulate the American Library Association Student Chapter at Florida State University as the winner of the 2012 ALA Student Chapter of the Year Award. The runner-up of this year’s award is the ALA Student Chapter at Indiana University.
The Student Chapter of the Year Award is presented in recognition of a chapter’s outstanding contributions to ALA, its school, and the profession. The purpose of the award is to increase student involvement in ALA through student chapters and to recognize its leaders. Official ALA Student Chapters are organizations formed by students at schools offering accredited programs of library and information studies. The winning student chapter receives a $1,000 travel grant to help with the cost of ALA conference attendance.
This year’s Student Chapter of the Year Award Committee praises the Florida State University ALA student chapter for its accomplishments in each of the six categories related to the Student Chapter of the Year Award. The committee was impressed with the chapter’s use of technology to recruit, retain, and communicate with members, especially PhD candidates, and the variety of activities for both local and distance students. The chapter leadership also demonstrated a strong commitment to future growth by drafting a strategic plan to solidify the long-term prosperity of the chapter.
Dr. Christie Koontz, Faculty Advisor to the Florida State University student chapter, stated, “We are an old established school (1947) and the roots of LIS are strong here. Many of today’s leaders built this chapter over and over. The recent groups have struggled to blend a once largely face to face student chapter into one membered by students primarily online. They have succeeded. It is time-consuming for those who are on campus yet they recognize their responsibility. It is also time-consuming to advise and encourage them each semester– but over and over– they make it so rewarding. Our profession is driven by service and it shows at this early stage of development.”
The runner-up of this year’s award, the ALA Student Chapter at Indiana University, is recognized for their wealth of events and collaborations with other student groups. We also applaud their chapter’s leadership, mentoring efforts, and excellent use of numerous communication methods.
The members of the SCOTYA Committee, NMRT, and the ALA Membership Committee appreciate the time and effort put in by all of the nominated ALA student chapters this year, and encourage all to keep up the great work!